Golf club carrier



March 1, 1960 VAUGHAN 2,926,713

GOLF CLUB CARRIER Filed Sept. 5, 1956 INVENTOR. E0 Y 6'. V4116 Hfl/V.

United States Patent GOLF CLUB CARRIER Roy A. Vaughan, Manchester, Conn. Application September 5, 1956, Serial No. 608,108 2 Claims. c1. 1so-1.s

The present invention relates to carriers for golf clubs, and more particularly to carriers for golf clubs within which the golf clubs maybe grouped together, foitrans port to and from a golf course, or may be linearly displayed externally of the carrier, while on the golf course, the carrier being particularly adapted for carriage on the conventional types of golf cart. p

The more usual golf bag comprises a hollow cylinder, fabricated of canvas, leather or fabric, and having its bottom closed and its top open. The golf clubs are dis posed in upright position in the cylinder, where they are randomly arrayed, making selection of a desired club difficult. In addition, such bags are normally quite heavy and cumbersome and consequently unduly tire the player who desires to carry his own clubs. In recent years collapsible wheeled carts have been employed by golf players to support their golf bags, thereby eliminating any necessity for carrying the bags. However, utilization of a collapsible wheeled cart does not eliminate the diiiiculties of selecting the proper club from the totality of clubs randomly arranged in the bag, and such carts are difficult to transport, heavy and expensive. To overcome the above recited problems golf club carts have been available which are in the form of wheeled vehicles, having clips for golf clubs secured to the frames of the carts so that the clubs are separately displayed and readily accessible. The shortcoming of such golf carts is that they are quite bulky and heavy and do not readily fit into the trunk of the average automobile and therefore present a problem in transporting them to and from the links, and of finding storage space for them in the home.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple, inexpensive and light-weight golf club carrier, fabricated of a minimum quantity of light-weight material, such as aluminum, plastic, or wire of such size that it may be readily stored in the trunk of the average automobile, and of such construction that the golf clubs may be arranged therein as in a conventional golf bag when transporting the carrier to and from the golf links, or may be individually displayed and left in when used on ones own cart in the course of play.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a golf club carrier, having provision for internal storage of golf clubs when the clubs are not required to be available for play, and wherein the clubs may be displayed heads-up about the periphery of the carrier, to facilitate selection of a desired club in the course of play.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a golf club carrier which may be readily positioned within the trunk compartment of an automobile, and which is adapted to be conveniently attached to and carried on any small collapsible cart for transport about a golf course. It is a further object of the invention to provide a golf club carrier which permits external carriage of clubs, whereby jamming of clubs internally of the carrier may be avoided, with the resulting deterioration of the grips of the club, and whereby also clubs are easier to select,

2,926,713 Patented Mar. 1, 1960 ICC 2 remove and replace, and it is easy to notice when a club is missing.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a golf club carrier which is of lighter weight than the conventional golf bag, and which may be secured to a conventional golf cart for transport, or may be carried by the golfer. i t i It is another object of the present invention to provide a golf club carrier having a golf ball dispenser of novel design incorporated thereon.

The above and still further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of one specific embodiment thereof, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure lis an isometric view of the golf club carrier of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of a novel golf club carrier, and

Figure 3 is a top view of the present invention,

Reference is made specifically to Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings, wherein is illustrated a golf club carrier in accordance with the present invention, having an elongated longitudinal structure and a rectangular configuration in cross-section. Four elongated posts in the form of upright angle members 1, 2, 3 and 4 are arranged at the corners of a parallelepiped. Disposed across the lower end of the parallelepiped is a closure plate 5, having bent elements 6, 7, 8 and 9 extending at right angles to the plate 5. The elements 6, 7, 8 and 9 lie exteriorly of the lower ends of the posts 1, 2, 3 and 4, and are riveted thereto. The bent elements 6, 7, 8 and 9 serve to secure the bottom plate 5 to the upright posts 1, 2, 3 and 4, and further serve to space the posts 1, 2, 3 and 4 and combine with other subsequently described elements to form a rigid structure.

A flat top plate 10 is disposed across the upper ends of the posts 1, 2, 3 and 4 and has bent down sections 11 and 12 extending between and suitably secured to the posts 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. The sections 11 and 12 serve to secure the top plate 10 to the posts 1, 2, 3 and 4 and further serve structurally to interconnect the posts 1, 2, 3 and 4, and to reinforce the structure. The element 6 of bottom plate 5 and the element 11 of top plate 10 are both vertically extended farther than the other bent elements to provide a rigid structure, not amenable to twisting.

Secured to the elements 6 and 11, respectively, are separate downwardly extending supports, 13 and 14, which permit the carrier to be secured on a cart for transport about the golf course. Clearly, for the hooks 13, 14 may be substituted clips or clamps, and the term supports is intended to be generic and non-limiting and to include hooks, or clamps, or clips, or the like.

The plate 10 is provided with a large rectangular central aperture or opening 15, through which the heads of golf clubs may extend when the clubs are carried internally of the carrier.

The upper end plate 10 is not rectangular, but has two concave edges, 16 and 17, whose horizontal orthogonal projections are parallel to the larger transverse sides of the carrier. Extending downwardly from the edges 16 and 17 of the upper end plate 10, and conforming thereto, and extending between and suitably secured to the upright elements 2, 3 and 1, 4, respectively, are narrow metal plates 18 and 19. The plates 18 and 19 have .each a plurality of generally U-shaped loops, preferably formed by bending, which define spaced, verticallyextending channels 20 having each an inner wall 21 and golf, club carrier of the t e along a cur d Plane pas in hr u t ed e or 17 of the plate 10, while the side walls 22 in the vertical plane slope inwardly and downwardly to define cha e 29 which. re wid r a their upp d t n at their lower ends. Further the walls 22, in the horizontal plane, are arcuate to define openings 21) to the channels 2 Which ar na r r tha he nt or, of h channe s.

n se b cin mem ers 24, 5 d 2 a disposed tw en an u t bly secure to t e upri h members 1 and 2, 2 and 3, 3 and 4 and 4 and 1, respectively; intermediate the upper and lower ends of the strucr and se to u h s en hen e ee e T e bracing members 24 and '26 are concave inwardly along p o ma e y th sam r dius of cu vatur a the e e 16 d 1 of the upp r end. Pl e 0 ur he a in members 27, 28 and 29 may alsg be provided between the upright em er 2 nd 3. 3 d 4, an 4 and 1 e p e y being P siti ned d a ent e upper end f the plate 6. i i Golf clubs may be extended through the aperture 15 in the plate 10, being supported by the lower end plate 5, when transporting the carrier to or from the golf course. When thus employed, the carrier serves essentially as a conventional golf club carrier or bag. When the clubs are to be used in play, they may be displayed about the outer periphery of the carrier of the present invention with their head ends up, the clubs being disposed in the channels 20. The clubs are retained in the channels 20 in consequence of the fact that the openings 20 are narrower than the adjacent diameters of the shafts of the clubs disposed therein. The downward taper to the channels is provided so that all but the longest clubs are supported by the side walls 22 adjacent the heads of the clubs where the diameter of the shafts gradually increases and, therefore, the shafts have the same tapered configuration as the channels 20. The larger clubs such as the drivers may be supported on the bottom of the carrier. The clubs are placed with the shafts in front of the member 24 or 26 and behind the member 27 or 29 depending upon which side of the carrier a particular club is displayed. When thus employed, the carrier of the present invention serves as a display rack which positively retains the clubs on the rack but'from which any selected club may be quickly and easily removed.

The carrier may be placed on a collapsible cart for conveniently moving it about the golf course, the supports 13 and 14 serving to support the carrier on the cart. The carrier may also be provided with a carrying strap 36 extending between and secured to the members 12 and 25.

A golf ball dispenser 31 may be provided, in accordance with the present invention, which comprises four parallel wires 32 bent into a large semi-circle. Each wire is placed at one corner of a square, the diagonals of which are squal'to the diameter of the standard golf ball.

The wires 32 are interconnected by a plurality of equally spaced circular loops of wire 33, suitably secured to each of the wires 32. The arrangement of wires 32 and 33 defines an essentially open semi-circular tube, extending vertically of the carrier, with its upper end disposed immediately below the element 12. The lower ends of the wires 32 are bent inwardly of the tube, to provide resilient fingers 34 which retain the balls in the holder 31, and which may be spread sufiiciently by pulling on the lowermost ball to enable easy removal of the ball. The lower end of the ball dispenser is secured to the carrier by wires 35 and 36 which extend between the lowermost ring of wire 33 and the upright members 3 and 4, to which they are suitably secured, The upper end of the dispenser is similarly supported, having wires (not illustrated) extending between the uppermost ring 33 and the upright members 3 and 4.

The carrier of the present invention is preferably fabricated of thin aluminum stock, or plastic or wire, and when thus fabricated is far lighter than the conventional golf bag. The carrier is inexpensive to manufacture, since its construction is quite simple and requires a minimum of parts or structural members of standard shapes and sizes. The carrier is of such size that it may be readily stored in the trunl; of the average automobile for easy transport to and from the golf course, and may be carried by the player or placed on a portable cart for transport about the course during play. It will outlast conventional types of golf bags, is easily wiped dry when 1. A carrier for golf clubs, each having a head end,

a grip end, and a shaft, comprising four parallel metallie posts of the same length, each post having a first end and a second end, said first endsarranged at the corners of a rectangle which is in a plane normal to the posts, a rectangular closure plate located in said plane and secured to said first ends, means securing said second ends in ri dl d r at n two f said pests defin g a e of said carrier, said side being in a flat plane, a plnrality of holders forthe head ends of golf shafts, means secur: ing said holders to said siderof said carrier, said holders arranged along a line located inwardly of said plane, whereby said clubs may extend parallel with said posts, in secured relation to said holders.

2 A carrier for golf clubs comprising four elongated members, said four elongated members beingeaeh parallel to all the others and forming the edges of an elongated par lle epip a st closure plate d o e acr ss one of the open ends of said parallelepiped, a second plate having a relatively large opening, said second plate being disposed across the other end of said parallelepiped, said relatively large opening being sufficiently large to pass a group of said golf clubs and being spaced from said first closure plate by a distance approximately equal to the length of the shaft of a golf club, a plurality of holders for engaging the necks of said golf clubs, said plurality of holders extending transversely across one side of said parallelepiped and being secured to two of said elongated members, a concave plate extending transversely of said last mentioned two elongated members, said con: cave plate extending generally parallel to said plurality of holders approximately mid-way of said longated members, and a further generally rectilinear plate extending generally parallel to said concave plate adjacent'said first closure plate and between said two of said elongated members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

